New member in Maryland (DC area)

[bellerophon]

Hello all!

I suppose I should introduce myself since I'll no doubt have a lot of questions. I'm new to falconry but not to keeping high maintenance animals. I currently keep various herps but specialize in poison dart frogs and other amphibians with numbers in my house reaching 100+ specimens at times. I've been turned on to the sport of falconry by a master falconer friend who also keeps herps and offered to take me on as an apprentice if I was interested. I cant say I've given it much though up until now but It certainly seems like something I would enjoy doing with my two young sons for years to come.

The only major aspect I'm concerned about is my living situation. I'm in a Townhouse just outside the DC beltway with a fenced backyard less than 18' square. I dont believe I have room for a decent sized mews but my sponsor assures me there are ways to make it work.

I look forward to getting to know all you and your birds. I also have access to several industrial laser cutters so hopefully I can be of some assistance to anyone needing custom cut metal work.

-Lee

[Richard F, Hoyer]

Lee;
Welcome and may I ask, what food do you feed your various species of frogs?

There are a few other falconers into herps as there is a snake subforum on this web site.

Richard F. Hoyer (Corvallis, Oregon)

[outhawkn]

[bellerophon]

Lee;
Welcome and may I ask, what food do you feed your various species of frogs?

There are a few other falconers into herps as there is a snake subforum on this web site.

Richard F. Hoyer (Corvallis, Oregon)

Various food items including fruit flies, crickets, bean beetles, springtails, isopods, mites etc.

oh so there is! haha. I never would have though to look for that

[everetkhorton]

Lee. What game to you have close to hunt? How is the snow! Still getting it?

[GONEHAWKN]

Lee welcome to the board. Bill here in Glen Burnie. another Falconer/Herp fan, although my choice of Herps were Panther Chameleons. always did like the frogs just never got around to them. again, welcome and good luck with your journey. who, if i may, is your sponsor? with your proximity to Virginia, you may want to consider meeting up with some of those guys/gals at some point in the future.....

[GONEHAWKN]

oh and hey Ev, i will take the question on the snow. YEAH WE GOT HAMMER'D and another 5"-8" is on the way Monday....i dont know how some of your Northerner's do it. i just dont see myself hawking in 4' of snow!!!

[everetkhorton]

Bill:
In Western Michigan where I live we have very little snow. Maybe 10 inches. But we like to share

[Chesapeakehawk]

Wow I love dart frogs! I was going to buy my first at the White Plains herp show this spring. Do you breed them as well?

[bellerophon]

who, if i may, is your sponsor? with your proximity to Virginia, you may want to consider meeting up with some of those guys/gals at some point in the future.....

Robert Fraser up in Baltimore. He's a bit far from me (I'm south of the DC beltway) but we have a good enough friendship that I shouldn't drive him away with all my questions.

What game to you have close to hunt? How is the snow! Still getting it?

Not exactly sure about small game but I'm sure there's a little bit of everything around here. Lots of open farmland within 20 minutes drive

20-40" depending on where your standing around my place due to snowdrifts. It was really quite bad this past week but we're recovering. I dont think we could handle much more.

Wow I love dart frogs! I was going to buy my first at the White Plains herp show this spring. Do you breed them as well?

I breed any of them that are willing. Recently I've whittled down my workload to focus mainly on Endangered species and more hylids than dendros at the moment. I do have a few odds and ends hopping around that are available though.

[GONEHAWKN]

Bob Fraser...is he still or was he a cop????

[bellerophon]

Thats the one, currently retired.

[thunderheartiii]

Just wanted to say to NAFEX.

[Zarafia]

Welcome to NAFEX Lee and good luck on your falconry quest
I have known a few frogs that we kept at the farm I used to live at. One was a very big, smart girl we called Frog (I know, really origional LOL). If I remember correctly she was a white-lipped treefrog (?) from Australia. She would regularly escape from her tank and we would find her in her favorite spot on a very high shelf. I never realised that frogs could have a personality before I knew Frog.
The others we had were some type of dendrobates, I can't remember what kind. At the school I'm going to now we have the green and black poison arrow frogs (Dendrobates auratus). I don't know very much about them yet.
What type is the one in your picture? It's gorgeous.

[Hawkmom]

Welcome to NAFEX. BTW: The problem you will have with keeping a bird is the ******)(*&^%%$ Homeowners Association. I have an intense hatred of them especially after being a real-estate agent. I felt that the rules killed several of my sales when the prospective buyers saw how in their personal business they are and how HMA's interfered with their lives. HMA's are often run by power hungry, small minded homeowners associations and covenants that go with them. I feel that they should be outlawed. They offer no value to the property, in fact in my experience, they detract from property values.

[GONEHAWKN]

Thats the one, currently retired.

tell Bob i said HI....last he and i saw each other it was at a VFA function about 10 years ago i guess. maybe more as i think i was flying a Goshawk at the time.....if ya ever get up this way, look me up. i just might be home.....oh, and check your PM's. i sent you something...

[bellerophon]

What type is the one in your picture? It's gorgeous.

Aussie White lip is a beutiful amphibian. I'm not a fan of auratus myself but the color morphs are extremely variable even for dendrobates. The one in that photo is a tinctorius 'patricia' morph.

Welcome to NAFEX. BTW: The problem you will have with keeping a bird is the ******)(*&^%%$ Homeowners Association.

I completely agree! The way our area is set up we actually have TWO that govern our property. I'll have to run through their royal decree's later tonight and see what I'm up against.

tell Bob i said HI....last he and i saw each other it was at a VFA function about 10 years ago i guess. maybe more as i think i was flying a Goshawk at the time.....if ya ever get up this way, look me up. i just might be home.....oh, and check your PM's. i sent you something...

Will Do, Bob is flying a great looking RT so far this year

[Zarafia]

Thanks Lee. Our Frog was huge (for a treefrog) almost four inches long. And like I said, she showed me that they can have real personalities, and want to escape from their tanks LOL. I liked that girl.
I am not familiar with the other auratus color morphs besides the plain green and black that our guys sport. What other colors occur?
Here is a dumb question, I have been told that the poison arrow frogs kept in captivity do not have the toxic quality to their skin that wild ones have and therefor the toxic properties must be diet-related. Do you know if this is true?

[bellerophon]

Here's a link that shows 25 auratus color morphs and I know there are others that aren't represented on it.

Thats correct, the chemicals needed to synthesize the toxins are believed to be (all but completely proven) sequestered from the insects that are eaten in the wild. Recent imports come in nice and potent but quickly lose their toxicity once they're switched to a stateside diet. So chances are if you see one up here its harmless, but I wouldn't go licking it without a little background info

[Zarafia]

Thanks Lee.
I rarely ever feel the need to lick or suck on amphibians, but if I ever do feel that need I will be sure that the frogs I lick have all been in captivity for a good while LOL.
Thanks for the links, I will look at them presently.

[Jeff721]

Hi Lee, I see that you're pretty local, if you don't mind me asking, what town/city? I'm down in Accokeek, but used to live right next to Andrews Air Force Base. Pretty familiar with the area.

I am also big into herps, at least I used to be, now all I have is a common boa constrictor and two leopard geckos. I know, they're kinda beginner herps, but I have had plenty of exotics: D. Leucomelas, D. Azureus, D. Auratus, P. terribilis, reticulated pythons, hogg island boas, etc. etc.

I have been recently thinking about getting back into the dart frogs. I'd love to set up a nice new vivarium (the vivariums were one of my favorite aspects of keeping dart frogs), but haven't been able to justify the fruit fly cultures and pinheads.

Jeff

[bellerophon]

Hey Jeff
I'm actually just outside AAFB as well, Upper Marlboro.
I definitely understand the fruit fly apprehension. Its a pain in the butt but it could always be worse. I know a few people making dozens of cultures a week

[GONEHAWKN]

man, i had my fill of them little buggers when i was raising Panther chameleons!! between them, the pin heads, and the hissing cockroaches, i was going nuts!!!

[Dirthawking]

Hell! A couple a week. I used to make 75-80 every four days! I had a collection of darts that made most guys drool! Turned my master bedroom into my from room with its own temp controls seperate from the rest of the house! Timed misting systems, etc, etc, etc, oh how do I miss those days! Changing tad water every third day, making cultures, making tad powder, mixing water.

http://www.frognet.org/gallery/Exotic-Wonders

I have not been into frogs for years, but still have alot of my vivs up and running!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Nice to know there are others out there that have been touched by the frog as well!

[HIGHLAND]

Hello all, My name is Highland, and I'm glad to be on the message board, and also glad there are some Falconers in the Maryland area. I'm also right outside of D.C.(Upper Marlboro). A client of mine turned me on to Falconry and I've been trying to read everything I can get my hands on. Any advise on good reading materials for a starter would be greatly appreciated!

[bellerophon]

Hey dude, first off its great to see another newcomer so close by.

Have you checked out the recommended reading list on DNR's falconry page? Those books seem to be recommended most often.

Also be sure to use the "User CP" section to add your real name to your signature. Its a not so unspoken rule around these parts.

[Squirrelhawkin]

Wow I love dart frogs! I was going to buy my first at the White Plains herp show this spring. Do you breed them as well?

White Plains show? as in New York? I go to that one alot.I buy my mice for the birds there. There's always alot of dart frogs there. My daughter had the bumblebee frogs for awhile. I used to have panther Chameleons(Ambanja and Nosy Be blues).I always wanted a Parson's but you could buy a goshawk for the same price! I raised silkworms and roaches(discoid,hissing and lobster) to feed them. I also had Oketee corns from Lee Abbott, a bunch of harlequin and flame crested geckos and bearded dragons.The coolest thing I bought at that show was a giant African water bug,it was about 4-5" long. It ate goldfish and lobster roaches.I kept it in an open bowl for about 2 weeks until I researched it online and found out that they could fly! I usally go to the Hamburg show every year,just to look at the venomous stuff. I'd love to have a gaboonXrhino viper hybrid,but with my luck I'd get tagged for sure!